Tuesday, July 22, 2014

It's been way too long since I poured my heart out at this Blog... The last time I did, you all responded in such a beautiful way... Thank you for that... I am beyond thrilled to report that "Liam" has found his family... Or should I say his family has found him... He's not in his Mama's arms yet, but he will be soon! I have had the priviledge of connecting with this very special family! Thank you to all of you who spread the word... When that sweet "cuddle bug" is safely home, I will definitely shout it out to all of you.. In the meantime, if you are led, please pray for all of the details to come together soon, so they can bring him home early this fall!

Today, I am taking this opportunity to ask you to respond/help again... This time we need new sponsors for several of our Pearl River Babies. Over one year ago, we were in China opening new doors, and adding new children. We were overwhelmed, and beyond touched with the response we got from so many new families last spring. Because of you, we were able to take on more children then we ever thought possible.. We've had an amazing year. We have seen 26 of our babies adopted since last spring! Amazing!

"Tinsley"

Adopted last month!

But, our need continues... For every child that is adopted, there is a new child waiting to be loved.

Thankfully, we have been blessed to keep our doors open for these children.. It's a privilege to provide them with the love of a family, until it's finally their turn...

"Faith"

(Seen here with her Foster Mama.)

Faith is now home with her forever family too!

With that said, we do need your help! We are in need of sponsors.. This is the time of year when many of our sponsorships need to be renewed. Some families choose to stay on for a very long time, and some just for one year. Our need for sponsors is really no surprise with the growth we saw after our time in China last April. I am confident we will be back at 100% sponsorship soon..

Will you consider becoming part of our PRO family? Your commitment will be $35 per month, or $420 annually. Your donation goes towards providing your child a foster family. Your dollars also go towards food, clothing, and other needs. Our staff in China meets with all of our children a minimum of once a month. In Hunan, our medical team does monthly check-ups on our kids. In Guangdong, we work directly with the orphanage staff to be our liasion with our foster families. I receive updates and photos of our kiddos monthly.

Part of our amazing team in China!

Ms. Meng and Dr. Tong in Hunan

Our invaluable liasiion, Julie Ma in Beijing!

Last year I personally saw our program in action.. Since then I have connected with many families who have adopted our Bamboo Babies.. The consistent message that I get from their forever parents, is that they were well taken care of an prepared to be loved! I am so thankful for that!

So, here are the children that I have today, who are in need of 1 or more sponsors. If you would like to sponsor one of our sweet babies, please email me directly at diana@pearlriveroutreach.org or send me a message via the Pearl River Facebook page!

Sunday, March 16, 2014

During my time in the Chinese Adoption Community I have heard, witnessed, and lived some amazing stories. The kind of stories that only God can orchestrate. The kind of stories that give you goose bumps, bring you to tears, or fill your heart up so big you think it will burst. I have been a part of some special journeys, and I am so grateful for that. One of the best parts of my job is sharing photos and communicating with families that find PRO while they are waiting for a Pearl River baby. I love my job!

Last April while in the baby room in Zhu Zhou City Hunan I fell in love.. The little heart breaker was a nine month old baby boy... When I walked into the room, he was standing in his walker sobbing.. The site broke my heart.. No Mama or Nanny was there to comfort him. So my Mommy instincts kicked in, and I picked him up... Almost immediately the sweet little face with the most beautiful lips nuzzled into my neck. I could have held him for forever. He was all baby.. Soft, and wonderful.. For one moment, he had a Mama to love him. I found the Asst. Director and asked her what was his special need.. Her reply, "Beta Thalassemia..." She went on to say that she didn't think he would ever get adopted with that special need.... For those of you who don't know, my daughter Sienna Grace, has Thalassemia too. While she does not have "beta" I knew enough about this dis-order to know that this precious little boy that was going to soon be smuggled into my carry-on, was absolutely adoptable. I don't think it was a coincidence that I was in that baby room that day! So, that is where it began... My love affair with Chen Yang Lin! Through my friend and translator Julie Ma, I told this Director just how adoptable he was. I promised her that if they would get him paper ready I would help him find a home... Well guess what, he IS paper ready.. And, his file is sitting at AAI right now. He is on their Individual List. They call him, "Liam." I call him, "Cuddle Bug!"

Since I took on the "Fairy Godmother Role " to Chen Yang Lin that day, I can't stand the thought of him not being matched with his forever! I promised him I would find him a loving family! One that would give him the care he needs, so he can live a normal and healthy life! He deserves that!

For those of you who don't know what Beta Thalassemia is, you can learn more at the Cooley's Anemia site here. (It will sound daunting. Trust me it's manageable!!!) I have had one of my trusted friends, an expert Hematologist/Pediatrician look at Chen Yang Lin's file... In her words, "there is nothing to be anxious about." Based on the fact he is so young, is a very positive thing!!! He will do well with the right treatment plan once he is home!!

So friends out there.. Who is paper ready, or close to paper ready that needs a sweet little one year old to complete their family? Chen Yang Lin will be 2 on July 31st. He shares a birthday with my sweet Ruby Mei!

Thalassemia is a MANAGABLE special need. Most likely his care will involve monthly transfusions. But, once you are on a schedule it is so do-able! There are many amazing Thalassemia families out there who will attest to that. These kids are SPECIAL!!! Brave and incredible! *I am happy to connect you with another family who has a child with Beta Thalassemia.

Please feel free to share this post.. I know there is a special family out there for this sweet little boy. This is what his file has to say about him:

"He is active and lovely,
ready to smile. Every day he will stand with holding the rail after opening his
eyes, smile at the nurturer, occasionally can call “mom”. He is attached to
people, always plays with nurturer mom for a while when put on clothes, can ask
them to kiss him and touch him. Usually he likes crawling on the mat, picks the
toy or pull other kid or stand up with holding without stop. He likes quick
music, can wave his head and clap his hands along the rhythm. He likes watching
cartoon, can stare at TV without blink. He is curious with fresh
things, always looks around when taken out to play."

I know that God had me in that baby room at that very place and time to help this sweet baby boy find his forever! I look forward to seeing God's plan for him! One thing is for sure.. Yang Lin's family is going to be blessed!!

Monday, December 23, 2013

Once again you have humbled us by your generosity!!!! Thank you to everyone who was a part of "Fill Their Stockings With Hope 2013!" It is by far, one of the most special things I get to do in December! Feeling so incredibly blessed to be a part of it all. This event would never happen with out my friends and FTS Co-Chairs Lisa and Stefanie. You are amazing!!

The donations received by Pearl River are going to make 2014 a very special year for 26 little ones that I love.. Thank you for caring about the "Least of these.."

Before I close, congratulations to our winners for the final two bundles!:

"Picture Perfect" ~ Sharie G.

"Get Your Game On" ~ The L Family

And, last but not least a shout out to all of our special friends who made our awesome bundles possible:

Friday, December 20, 2013

This is it friends... The Final ONE!!!!!! The Bundle for the gamer!!! The electronic gamer and the outdoor gamer!! If you have had the Xbox One on your list, you know it has been out of stock and hard to find.. Thanks to a special donor, we have an XBOX One for you and 2 contollers!!!

And, for the athletes and outdoorsman in your family, $200 in Gift Cards at "Dick's Sporting Goods!" If you don't have a store near you, they have an awesome web site for you to shop from!!

So, let's GET YOUR GAME ON, and Overflow some precious stockings!!! We have one day left. This generous bundle ends at 11:59pm on Saturday night!! So, if there's a gamer or two in your family, I hope you will maike a donation today!!

*Donated by a Friend of Pearl River Outreach

*Donated by an anonymous friend with a heart for orphans!

The same rules apply.. To Win you must have a U.S. address for shipping. We ask that you donate a minimum of $5.00. Anything above that in increments of $5 gives you multiple chances to win! (Example: $50 - 10 chances!) Winners are picked using "Random.org." And thrown into a hat with one winner from Lisa's blog, and one winner from Stef's blog!

Speaking of Lisa and Stef.. I am so thankful for these awesome friends, advocates of orphans, and beautiful people. It is a privilege for me to be a part of Fill Their Stockings With Hope! We all have one goal in mind when we do this event.. To provide a hope and a future for those that some consider, "the least of these!" Proud to be a part of FTS and PRO!

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

The very blessed winner of Bundle #2 can not be revealed by name! Why? Because she doesn't know.. Her very special Santa Clause is surprising her... I do believe she is going to be one very happy Mama on Christmas Morning!!!!

Donations continue to come in. Thank you! I am so excited about our current Photography Bundle, and the last exciting offer we have coming at the end of the week.. I am hopeful we will get to our $5000 goal!

Please continue to spread the word, so we can make those stockings overflow with hope!!!!

I close this fun post, by introducing our two new additions at Pearl River.

Monday, December 16, 2013

The bundle many of you have been hoping for is here... I don't think it needs a lot of introduction.. Honestly, I am blown away by the generosity of our donations for the children... So many giving hearts.. Thank you!!!!

If you, (or someone you love), has a desire to upgrade their camera, get that lens you are saving for, need a photography class from the most talented teacher I have ever met, want those actions to enhance your photographs from good to WOW, own the most stylish camera bag ever, get a cool logo for that business you have been dreaming about, or just get some adorable accessories for your girly girl, this is it.... This is the perfect one for you... ( Good grief, this is the perfect one for me, if I could win!!!) So many of my favorites here!!!!

This bundle of Perfect, ends at 11:59pm on Wednesday December 17th.. After that there is one left.. (It's going to be the one to bid on for the men in your life!!)
*Same Rules Apply as the other three bundles.. $5.00 gives you a chance to win..
Anything above that in increments of 5 gives you multiple chances to win.. I am encouraging you to donate $35, the equivalent of one month of sponsorship and 7 trys!!!
(If you can't donate, but want a chance to win just leave your name and address in the comments)

But for now, let's get "clicking" and Fill Their Stockings With Hope!!!!

*donated by Sophia Jane Boutique*So here is what you need to remember if you want a chance to win:All the items in this post will be gifted to one winner, chosen at random from all the entries received on all three blogs – funds raised here will go to Pearl River Outreach, , funds raised by Stef will go to Lifeline’s Maoming Project, and funds raised by Lisa will go to Half the Sky.

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

I just have to say this bundle of fabulous is shouting "Merry Christmas Mom" to me... A few of my favorites are here... Take a peek at what some amazing friends have donated to help you, help us, fill up some precious babies stockings!!! WOW!!

*Lisa See book club package donated anonymously in honor of Half The Sky*

How it works:Pearl River
Outreach will be blessed by any amount you donate.$35 sponsors one child for one month!We ask for this event that you donate a
minimum of $5.00.For every
$5.00 you donate, you will receive one chance to win this bundle!($35.00 gives you 7 chances to win,
etc...)It is possible to enter
without donating.To do that,
simply leave your name, email, and mailing address in my comments section.We will assign you one number in the
drawing.All donations at this
blog will go directly to PRO.100%
of the funds go to our Bamboo Babies! *Please note that you must have a U.S.
Shipping address to win! (Remember, anything you donate is tax
deductible.Pearl River Outreach
is a non-profit 501C organization!)

The “Mama Mia” bundle will end at 11:59pm ET on Saturday,
December 14th at 11:59pm.The
winner will be chosen at random from all of the entries we get and announced
shortly after the bundle closes.

Thank you in advance for "filling
their stockings with hope!!"I have seen your giving in action.It will make a difference in the lives of our Bamboo Babies like
four of our newest additions:Ben,
Oscar, Hadley and Harrison...